Elder Scrolls Lore: The Towers

[ShadowEye31]

So, I started poking around the internet for Elder Scrolls lore, and I stumbled across the Towers that keep Mundus intact. I find this bit of lore fascinating, if a bit confusing. I was wondering if perhaps the community might be able to help me understand it.

 

Here's what I have gathered. May or may not be correct:

*The Towers, whether natural or man-made, are what holds Mundus intact, by that I mean its laws of physics. They also hold the Aetherius out, as well as the Void and Oblivion within it.

*No one knows how many Towers there currently are.

*Counting the ones that are not completely confirmed as deactivated/destroyed, there are four Towers left out of all that are known.

*If all towers are destroyed/deactivated, Mundus will deform and return to the Aetherius.

*The Thalmor wish to destroy the Towers to become immortal/gods.

 

My biggest question is this: What happens to all of the races of Nirn if Mundus is destroyed via the Towers? I would assume they, too, are destroyed/deformed into nothing, but the Thalmor seem to believe it will make them immortal. Am I missing something, or are they just completely stupid?

[jhncanson]

We see what we want to see.. and what i see is this.

 

The different world will merge into one. Mixing all those races is like mixing different chemicals.. its more likely to cause destruction. This world will be forged by battles.. until one emerges dominant and will try to enslave all the rest.

 

 

EDIT: Alduin is a testament of that. A superior being whose been trying to enslave the nirn.

Edited January 12, 2013 by jhncanson

[BrettM]

There are many aetherial beings, both greater (the gods) and lesser. Many escaped back to Aetherius when Mundus was created, tearing holes between Mundus and Aetherius that became the sun and stars. Many, however, did not escape and became trapped on Nirn as mortals. The Thalmor believe that these trapped beings are the ancestors of the mer. Thus, if Mundus is destroyed, the elves will all be freed from their imprisonment in mortal bodies to take their rightful existence as aetherial beings.

[Lachdonin]

Ok, put yer helmet on, this may hurt a bit. Depending on how much you search, you will discover that the word Tower refers to two things. Either the Meri-Towers, constructed during the Dawn and Merethic eras, or THE Tower, pertaining to the nature of existance, the profile of the Wheel, and the Godhead. If you're having trouble with the Meri-Towers, do NOT touch the Godhead. Start with the little stuff before you get into the metal.

 

There are only two Towers which 'sustain' Mundus. Ada'Mantia (the Adamantium Tower) and Red Mountain (the Red Tower). The former is the true anchor for reality, and the linchpin in creation, whereas the latter gifted Nirn with its own inherent Divinity, thus making it so the Gods did not have to dwell on it. The reason behind this is that mundus is a Divine Doman, similar to any of the Daedric Domains, and it requires that divinity to maintain its existance, because it is an extension of that divinity. For instance, Dagon cannot leave the Deadlands, because the Deadlands ARE Dagon. In the same way, there had to always be a source of divine power on Nirn, because Nirn has to be the extention of -something-.

 

But i digress, you don't want to know the nature of divinity, you want to know about the Towers. The Towers, with the exception of the Adamantium and Red, were built by the Elves. They are not so much anchors for reality but rather conduits for Creatia (most accurately discribed as pure magicka). They were used to collect and condense vast quantities of power, either to shape the landscape (such as the Crystal Tower) or empower individuals (implied about the White-Gold Tower). They were all created in facimilie of the Adamantium Tower, either physically of metaphysically, though none of course have the same power, as they were created by the debased descendants of lesser-Aedra.

 

One Tower requires special mention, and that is the Brass Tower, created by the Dwemer. The Brass Tower (or Brass-Walks, Walking Brass or the Numidium) is less a means of manipulating the reality of Mundis, and more of an attempt to re-create divinity. It was the Dwemer's attempt to recreate the circumstances of their previous divinity. Of course, they didn't realise how far they had fallen, and the power nessessary to create a god consumed them all, and still only created a rather poor excuse for a god.

 

Anyway, to the best of my knowelge, there is only one Tower known to still be active. Orichalcum tower was destroyed by the Redguard, the Sap Tower is presumed offline (i am told, at least, though i've never been given, nor have i ever found anything to support that) and the prophesy for the return of Alduin implies that the Snow Tower is offline as well.

 

With the destruction of Crystal Tower during the Oblivion Crisis, the fall of White Gold (either during the Oblivion Crisis or when the Domminion took the city during the Great War) and the deactivation of the Red Tower by the Nerevarine in Morrowind, that leaves only the Adamantium Tower remaining.

 

 

Anyway, what would happen if the Adamantium Tower were to be destroyed or deactivated? Mundus would end. Those spirits still in existance would be freed, though they are so weak that they may as well be mindless drones in Aetherius. Depending on who you listen to (and by this i mean TES lore buffs, not in-game philosophers) the free release of power (which is restrained on Mundus) may re-energize the Earth Bones, reviving those Et'ada who 'perished' creating Nirn. The pervading arguement (which is totally unconfirmed and based on some unreliable information, i might add) of the Thalmor Conspiracy implies that the Thalmor, at least beleive that destroying Nirn would return them to their godhood. Of course, because of the case with the Numidium, we know they would get, at most, ONE god out of the whole affair...

[ShadowEye31]

@Lachdonin

 

Well, that explained the Towers well in the sense that I was asking. Thanks!

 

But I could have sworn I read somewhere that no one knew exactly how many Towers were created by the Elves. Is that speculation or could there actually be more mortal-created Towers lying about?

[Lachdonin]

There could certianly be more lieing around. If there was ever an actual account on how many there were, it would have likely been kept in the libraries of the Crystal Tower, libraries which were still closed to Imperial scholars at the end of the 3rd age. Since the Crystal Tower fell during the Oblivion Crisis (actually destroyed, not just deactivated) those records are likely gone forever.

 

The ones i know of off the top of my head are...

 

Orichalcum (created by the Lefthanded Elves); Destroyed by the Redguard

Tree-Sap (presumably Bosmer, or maybe the Argonian ancestors, we don't even know where it was...); Presumably destroyed or innactive (needs source)

White-Gold (Alyied); Deactivated either during the Oblivion Crysis, or during the Great War, or sometime between.

Adamantium (The Aedra); Still working properly

Red (The Aedra); Deactivated by the Nerevarine

Brass (the Dwemer); Destroyed by the Blades Agent during the Warp in the West

Crystal (the Aldmer, or possibly the Altmer); Destroyed by the Daedra durring the Oblivion Crisis

Snow (presumably the Falmer); presumably deactivated, based on the wording of the Alduin prophesy.

 

All of that said, there are other Tower like locations on Nirn, including the rocky spire the Sload worship, i recall several similar objects in Akiviri lore, and at least one mention of an extra-mundus Tower in Lord of Souls. Since the Towers themselves are representitive of a fundimental principal of reality, i would expect them to turn up everywhere, so we will likely have to wait and see whats in store.

[Edd657]

Something which is worth mentioning is that each tower is powered by a stone, e.g. Lorkhan's heart in the red tower and the gem in the amulet of kings for the white tower. Based on this I would say that the snow tower is still active as the tower is still intact and as far as we know so is the stone and the link between the two. The issue of the stone also raises the question as to whether the white tower is inactive as although the amulet of kings was destroyed akatosh directly got involved and thus may have provided a new stone, i.e. the stone remnant of his avatar.

Also, I found this http://www.imperial-library.info/content/aurbic-enigma-4-elden-tree which is not really clear but coould be used as evidence that green-sap is still active too.

[Lachdonin]

Well, we have been told that the stone of the Snow-Tower is the 'Cave', We have no idea what that cave is, though it's generally regarded as referring to the cave in which Shor spoke to Shor.

 

The stone of Tree-Sap is the Perchance Acorn.